Michelle Obama and Ann Romney's pink choices: a nod to women

It's easy to assume First Lady Michelle Obama and Ann Romney wore pink to last night's raucous presidential debate because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

But I'm going to take it a step further.

I believe both women picked similar fuchsia hues because this debate was the most important one for women, and they knew it. Women, especially in the suburbs, hold a lot of electoral power in swing states and Tuesday morning polls predicted Republican candidate Mitt Romney was gaining ground with them. President Obama needed to keep his marks high.

The men went head-to-head on major double X chromosome issues of importance from equal pay to reproductive rights. The phrase of the night was: "binders full of women," uttered by Romney, when asked about women and equal pay.  Women were at the forefront of this debate. (Note here: Candy Crowley  was an on-point fact checking moderator.)

So what better way to remind debate watchers that these men care about women than to strategically place pink clad spouses in the audience? Yes, it was October, but that was icing on the cake. Pink is feminine in any month.

That said, both women looked dynamic in their respective rosy palettes. As expected they made choices authentic to their sense of  style: Obama wore a hot pink sheath and matching bolero by Michael Kors. She looks fantastic in a sheath, but that jacket made the look as sharp as a tack.

Romney opted for a softer look, her Oscar de la Renta  dress was more fushia. The capped sleeves,  rounded collar and turquoise necklace - which I probably would have lost - made for a sweeter message.

Generally, I think pink is too girly – not powerful enough.  But I do believe that Romney and Obama made pink a power shade and appealed to women who are proving to have powerful roles in this election.

What are your thoughts?